On 4 December 2020, an academic seminar on a qualification framework and credit accreditation in western areas of China was held at the Chongqing Branch of the Open University of China (OUC).
Leaders and responsible personnel in charge of credit accreditation and experts and scholars from 10 radio and TV universities (RTVUs) and higher vocational colleges in eight municipalities and provinces attended the seminar. The attendees held discussions and exchanges on the construction of a vocational education qualification framework, credit outcome accreditation, and credit bank construction.
Professor Guo Qing, secretary of the Party Committee of the Chongqing Branch, delivered a speech in which he expressed his hopes that a common understanding could be reached at the seminar and cooperation be built to make positive contributions to the construction of a qualification framework and standards, as well as the construction of a lifelong education system in western areas of China and a learning society characterised by “anyone can learn anytime and anywhere.”
At the seminar, Professor Zhang Weiyuan, dean of the Institute of Big Data Application of the Chongqing Branch and supervisor of doctorate candidates at the Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University, gave a lecture entitled “China Qualification Framework Development Report." Zhou Shikai, vice dean of the School of Electronic Information Engineering at the Chongqing Branch, introduced learner development model reform for vocational education based on a qualification framework. Responsible credit accreditation personnel and experts and scholars from Chongqing, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Chengdu, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Xi’an exchanged research and practice of qualification framework construction in their respective areas. The “Proposal for a Qualification Framework and Credit Mutual Recognition Community in Western Areas of China” raised by the Chongqing Branch was discussed at the seminar and a guide for the first round of research topics was issued. The theoretical value and practical significance of qualification framework construction and the exploration of a credit bank pilot programme were fully affirmed by the attendees from different levels and dimensions and suggestions for work at the next stage were given.
Leaders, experts, and scholars attending the meeting recognised the importance of the seminar held by the Chongqing Branch, regarding it as a specific embodiment of implementing the general requirement of “improving the lifelong learning system and constructing a learning society” proposed by the CPC 19th Fifth Plenary Session. It also advanced the strategic deployment of “building a national qualification framework and building and improving a national credit bank system and learning outcome accreditation system.” During the seminar, the latest research results and practical progress in terms of qualification framework and learning outcome accreditation were demonstrated, and academic exchanges between RTVUs and higher vocational education colleges were strengthened.
The seminar also served as a phased summary of the topic “Practical Research in Western Areas” belonging to the “National Qualification Framework Research and Practice Based on Vocational Education” research project, an MOE project undertaken by the Chongqing Branch and entrusted and organised by the Central Institute for Vocational and Technical Education.
By Chongqing Branch